F.I.A.S.C.O.: Blood in the Water on Wall Street

by Frank Partnoy

Overview

A Businessweek Bestseller

"You fail to read F.I.A.S.C.O. at your peril." —Los Angeles Times

F.I.A.S.C.O. is the best-selling account of Frank Partnoy's education in the jungle of high finance from 1993 to 1995. It follows the young Morgan Stanley salesman as he learns to navigate a marketplace where billions of dollars are made and lost in the creation and trading of derivatives, a type of security that almost nobody fully understands. Seen in relief against the financial meltdown of 2008, F.I.A.S.C.O. appears ever more prescient, and in a new epilogue written for this edition, Partnoy connects his story to the central role derivatives played in that crisis.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393115345
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	01/18/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	908,089
File size:	432 KB

About the Author

Frank Partnoy is a professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley and the author of four books including Wait: The Art and Science of Delay and F.I.A.S.C.O.: Blood in the Water on Wall Street. He has written for the Financial Times, the New York Times, and Portfolio.

Editorial Reviews

Before his recent return to practicing law, Partnoy was a derivatives salesman for the prestigious Wall Street investment bank Morgan Stanley. In simple terms, a derivative is a tricky financial instrument whose value depends on another security, such as a stock or bond. Partnoy takes us inside the complex world of high finance, deriving his title from Morgan Stanley's competitive skeet-shooting event, the Fixed Asset Annual Sporting Clays, which "set the mood for the firm's barbarous approach to its clients' increasing derivatives losses." This is a story about deceit and manipulation by fund managers wanting big bonus checks and a wake-up call to the average investor. Partnoy explains in easy language the investment alternatives used by the very wealthy to avoid paying capital gains taxes. In addition, we get an in-depth look at well-known derivative "fiascoes," namely Orange County, Procter & Gamble, and others. This fascinating book will appeal to serious investors. Recommended for all business collections.Bellinda Wise, Nassau Community Coll. Lib., Garden City, N.Y.

Library Journal

"This insider's account smacks as much as The Catcher in the Rye as of Liar's Poker. Applies an intelligent, clinical eye to this excruciatingly complex corner of the financial world."

New York Times

"Like Liar's Poker, Partnoy's tale is populated with hilarious caricatures…His book goes a long way toward helping us understand what happened and preventing us from becoming 'widows and orphans' who buy these products without understanding them."

Chicago Tribune

"Read the book F.I.A.S.C.O., by law professor and former derivatives trader Frank Partnoy, an insider account of depravity in derivative trading at one of the biggest and best-regarded Wall Street firms. The book will turn your stomach."

Charlie Munger